In our travels in search of the ancient Buddha statues of Tamil Nadu, we came across many Buddha and Bodhisattva statues from the 1st – 16th Century CE timeframe. As of today, though Tamilians are not so much aware of the history of Buddhism in the Tamil land, and though many of them consider Buddhism to be a foreign system belonging to Sri Lanka, the fact is the other way around. From almost every district of Tamil Nadu, ancient Buddha statues have been discovered. Tamil Nadu had wide-spread presence of all forms of Buddhism including Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana. Many great Buddhist scholars and Yogis were also from there including Bodhidharma, Dignaga, Buddhaghosha, Dhammapala, Dharmakirthi, Chandrakirthi and Dharmapala. According to Tibetan master Taranatha, Guru Padmasambhava stayed in Tamil Nadu for many years and taught Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism there. There are also historical accounts of Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka being revived in the 13th Century by inviting monks from Tamil Nadu.
Kanchi (Kanchipuram) in Tamil Nadu was the most significant Buddhist center of learning in South…
Poompuhar was probably the earliest of the cities in the Dravida Land to have a…
Pondicherry has a few ancient Buddha statues from the 10th to 12th Century. Two of…
A 16th Century TIbetan Buddhist Master, Taranatha mentions about Tamil Nadu’s Pakshitheertham’s Buddhist past in…
Around 350 statues of Buddha and Bodhisattvas and some stupas were uncovered from Nagapattinam in…
Statues and Stupas from Sellur in Later Chola Period In 2004, T. Ramalingam, a farmer…
There was widespread presence of Buddhism in the Thiruvarur district of Tamil Nadu for a…
Perambalur district of Tamil Nadu has two ancient Buddha statues. One of them, a 5ft…
Revealing the rich heritage of Buddhism in Thanjavur and Kumbakonam from its ancient period, many…
A majestic vestige of the foregone era of Buddhism in Pushpavanam, Nagapattinam can be seen…
The presensce of Mahayana Buddhism in Tiruchirappalli is all through the Chola period is evident…
There was strong presence of Buddhism in Ariyalur district of Tamil Nadu, as it is…
In Mangalam, Musiri Talkuk, Tamil Nadu, there is an ancient Buddha statue that looks like…
In Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu, many ancient Buddhist remains were rediscovered over the last century.…
As can be expected from the names of these places, Salem and Dharmapuri are rich…
Soon to come
- Ancient Buddha Statues of South Tamil Nadu